The HAG & Commissioner for Justice, BSD Sanga, attended a
conference on Gender Based Violence (GBV), organised by the UNFPA and
undertook that if development partners provided requisite support, the
Government of Adamawa State will declare a state of emergency on GBV.

The Conference was tagged a Call to Action on Protection against
Gender Based Violence, and held in Maiduguri from the 5th – 6th of
December 2018. It covered a review of the progress made and challenges
encountered in 2018, by stakeholders in combating GBV.

In his opening remarks, BSD Sanga informed the meeting that in
response to the scourge and rising trend of reported cases of Rape, the
Adamawa State Government established a Sexual Assault Referral Center
which was named “the Hope Center” and a Special Rights Agency through a
legal notice. He also informed the conference that the State has also
enacted laws and policies such as an improved Penal Code and the
Administration of Criminal Justice Law to take care of restorative
Justice.

HAG also informed the conference that the State was working on the
establishment of Multi Door Court Houses, with jurisdiction covering
criminal matters and that GBV cases could therefore be referred to the
Multi Door Court Houses, when they become operational.

Given the strides made by the State, the HAG invited Donor partners
and Development Agencies to support the State Government in the
establishment of the Multi Door Court Houses and a Forensic Laboratory.
He explained that a Forensic Unit was integral to the success of
minimising GBV, as it will provide evidence of perpetration of the crime
of rape or assault. In this context, he noted that the forensic
laboratory will ensure that evidential gaps are closed and perpetrators
of GBV are brought to book to deter other potential perpetrators.

The HAG explained that within 8 months of the establishment of the
Sexual Assault Referral Centre, it had handled over 70 cases, noting
that all these cases were reports from just two out of the twenty-one
Local Governments in the State. He further explained that only 9 case
diaries had been received for prosecution, largely as a result of tardy
investigation and a culture of silence, factors which would be
surmounted if the State had a Forensic Laboratory.